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On September 5, 2012, the studios of TV+, a
private television station in the capital, Libreville, owned by André Mba
Obame, the country's main opposition leader, were attacked by six unknown
assailants, Agence France-Presse quoted
Editor-in-Chief Ismaël Obiang Nze as saying. In the attack around 3 a.m.
local time, a security guard was hit on the head with a hammer, stabbed in the
back, and tied up, but his injuries were not critical, Nze said.

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Lagos, Nigeria, August 16, 2012--Unidentified
gunmen today stormed a private television station owned by Gabon's main
opposition leader and burned down its transmitters, according to local journalists
and news reports. It was the second armed attack on the broadcaster since 2009.

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New York, August 6, 2012--The Committee to Protect
Journalists condemns Friday's decision by Gabon's state-run media regulator to
suspend two private newspapers for six months over criticism of top officials.

In a press statement obtained by CPJ, the National
Communications Council accused weeklies Ezombolo
and La Une of disrespecting public
institutions "and the personalities that embody them." Local journalists told
CPJ that the council appeared to be singling out critics of the government.

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New York, March 20, 2012--The Committee to Protect
Journalists calls on Gabon's authorities to drop legal proceedings against six
journalists in connection with articles raising questions about use of a presidential
plane. Two of the journalists have fled the country fearing arrest after being
summoned by police for interrogation.

New York, January 5, 2012--The government of Gabon, led by President
Ali Bongo, on Tuesday imposed suspensions on a TV station and a newspaper for coverage
of opposition leader André Mba Obame, according to local journalists and news
reports.

As news of Middle Eastern and North African protests swirl around the globe, satellite television and the Internet prove vital sources of information for Africans as governments fearful of an informed citizenry and a free press such as in Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Zimbabwe impose total news blackouts on the developments.

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Last week, Gabon's
government-controlled National Communications Council ordered the TV station of
opposition leader André Mba Obame off
the air for a period of three months. The ruling is without appeal and,
typically, this is how authorities in this oil-rich equatorial African state silence
critical news outlets. Except that, this time, the "reporting"
for which the TV station was forced off the air was not about a real event but
rather the staging of a faux presidential swearing-in
ceremony.

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New York, October 29, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gabonese authorities to free a journalist who was jailed on Tuesday for failing to pay exorbitant damages stemming from a 2004 civil libel suit.

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In Gabon, more than a year after the historic and contested presidential elections won by Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba, the main radio and television stations of Ondimba's two main opponents still face administrative obstructions imposed during the polls, according to interviews CPJ conducted with journalists and officials between July and September.